Statement by Jane Campbell, president of Women Impacting Public Policy, about the tax reform proposals currently under consideration in Congress

“Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), the nonpartisan voice for women business owners, commends the House and Senate for including the first-ever carve out for pass-through entities, which comprise over 95 percent of all businesses in the US. This is an important first step in recognizing that small businesses should be treated more fairly in the tax code. Indeed, 90 percent of women-owned businesses are small businesses. However, we temper our support by asking Congress to give us a better deal than either version currently contains. As several senators have stated, the bill is not good enough for small businesses.

Whether the treatment is structured as a lower tax rate, as in the House bill, or a deduction in the Senate version, we urge Congress to consider making the pass-through provision equitable to the corporate rate reduction. This will help stimulate investment in all businesses, large and small.

Women-owned businesses invest in their communities and the nation’s economy, growing at twice the rate of all other businesses. But the current tax code puts them at a disadvantage. In fact, research conducted by American University’s Kogod Tax Policy Center, which drew on a survey of 515 WIPP-affiliated women business owners nationwide, showed the majority of women business owners do not fully benefit from key tax code provisions because of how they’re legally organized or the industries they’re in.

WIPP asks Congress to help rectify this inequity by lowering the business rate for pass-through entities, allowing our nation’s job creators to participate in much needed tax reform.

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About WIPP

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a national nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of women entrepreneurs—strengthening their impact on our nation’s public policy, creating economic opportunities, and forging alliances with other business organizations. www.WIPP.org